She Loves Valentine's Day
by RecklessLove66
Summary: It picks up right after Abby and Bobby leave Buck's hospital room to get some coffee.
1. Chapter 1

Abby and Bobby sat at a small table in the middle of the hospital cafeteria. With her hands wrapped around the coffee for warmth, Abby was gazing off into the distance not saying a word.

Captain Nash was immediately taken by her when she wandered into the firehouse for Chimney's welcome back party. She was gorgeous! 'that hair' he thought. 'and the way she saved Buck… right, Buck". What was he thinking? This girl may be incredible but she is Buck's girl. He immediately snapped out of his daydream.

"Hey!" He said softly. Shaking her out of her daze.

"Buck will be fine. He's a strong kid." Bobby said in a reassuring tone.

Abby smiled weakly with a slight sense of doubt. "I hope you're right. He still seemed so out of it. He was without oxygen for almost 3 minutes. I know it's not long enough to cause lasting damage, but that only in most cases. What if he's the one case where it does?" She started to pick up the pace in her speech. "He should have woken up by now" she choked out, holding back tears.

Bobby instinctively reached his hand out to hers and gave it a light squeeze. "You can't think like that. He'll be fine." Bobby said strongly with a reassuring smile.

"Thanks" Abby smiled, wiping a single tear from her cheek.

"You really care about him, don't you? I mean, that was some form of heroics back there." Bobby said.

"Yea, yea I mean I've only known him for a few weeks, but there was just something different about him. He's sweet, beyond sweet. And after tonight… when I thought I might lose him, it really… I don't know. I just." Abby said as she put her hands over her heart and squeezed them in tight.

"You must think I'm a little silly. I mean the age difference… is a lot," she said as she let out a signature Abby chuckle. Shaking her head she said, 'but when I'm with him, it doesn't seem to matter. He hasn't even asked my age. You know, at first, I was just letting myself have fun. But, I think this could really be something." Abby finished as she took a sip of the hospital coffee that Bobby had bought her.

Abby looked at him with a smile, "This is pretty bad" she said with a laugh. "Do you think he's up yet?"

"Well I'm definitely not going to drink this, so why don't we go back to his room" Bobby laughed along with her.

"At least this bad coffee brought a smile to your face," Bobby said as they both stood up. He watched Abby walk in front of him, wearing Bucks jacket over her dress.

A few moments after Bobby and Abby left to get coffee, the nurse began giving Buck his shots. After the second prick to his left bicep, he began to stir. Buck opened his eyes, "Abby!" he shouted with a weak voice.

"Shh shh!" the nurse soothed "You're ok, calm down," She said.

"What happened? Where am I? Where is Abby?" He said softly. His voice still strained from the incident earlier tonight.

"You were on a date for Valentine's Day and you choked Do you remember any of this?" The nurse questioned.

"Yea… I was out with Abby… and then nothing. I don't remember anything after that." Buck began slowly. He got a little worked up as he realized that something must have happened.

"Well, its probably best you don't remember. It was pretty…" She was saying. 'Where is Abby?" Buck interrupted.

"Is Abby the redhead?" the nurse questioned. Buck nodded.

"She's here somewhere. She came in with you. Its quite amazing actually, she saved your life. She performed an emergency tracheotomy on you right in the middle of that fancy restaurant. Quite a good one I might add. The ER surgeons were impressed." The nurse continued.

'Wow, she saved my life' Buck thought.

Right then, Abby and Bobby walked in chit chatting between them.

The moment Abby realized that Buck was awake; she ran to his side and put her hands on the bed. With a soft smile and warm eyes she said her classic line "Hi Buck" but this time, it was barely above a whisper.

"And on thatwe'ree, were gonna go" the nurse said as she motioned at Bobby, then at the door.

Once they were alone Abby put one hand on his chest and the other on his right cheek. "Thank God your ok" She said as she breathed out in relief. "I was so worried. I don't want to think about it." She said softly as tears began to stream down her face.

Buck put his hand over hers and squeezed. "Well, our second date was even better than the first" Buck said with a smile.

Abby let out a small laugh and brought her head down to his and rested her forehead against his face. Buck kissed the top of her head softly and said "Thank you for saving my life Abby."


	2. Chapter 2

After a few moments of quiet embrace. Abby broke the silence with a realization.

She stood up and wiped the tears from her eyes.

"Your parents?" She said.

"Once they whisked you off into surgery, I was stuck in the waiting room. I figure I should contact your family, but I realized that we never talked about them. I called your roommate, Jeff, to get a number but he didn't have one. He said you never talk about them so I wasn't able to call them. I'm sorry." She said.

"But now that you're up, I'm sure you want them here." Abby continued as she pulled out her phone.

"What's your mom's number?" She asked.

Buck gave a look that she couldn't quite recognize. "The reason that we never talked about them is because I don't have a family," Buck said with a slight hesitation.

"Well siblings, anyone I can call. Really, after something like this, Buck you should have family here" She said.

Buck began to shake his head. "My mom died when I was about 2 and she was the only family I'd ever had. I went into the foster system. I was never adopted so… no family" Buck said so matter of factly.

"Oh…" Abby said with shock and sadness. "I'm sorry, it's just. You never mentioned. So I had no idea. I didn't mean too…"

Buck cut her off. " It's ok really. I never tell anyone about it. I really don't like to talk about it." Buck said with a sadness that Abby had never seen on his usually goofy face.

In that moment the doctor came in and asked Abby to leave the room so that he could examine Buck. She smiled and mouth, "I'll be right out here" to him as she walked out.

Out in the waiting room, Abby tried to sit down but ended up right back on her feet pacing around.

'I can't believe he doesn't have a family' she thought to herself. 'I mean, that definitely explains why he is so afraid of losing me. Poor Buck!'

She continued to pace around for another 20 minutes unable to get this out of her head. 'I wonder if Bobby knows about his past? Or has he truly never told anyone in his adult life?' Abby was driving herself crazy with these sad thoughts.

She was interrupted by the doctor. "Miss Clarke," the Dr. said.

"Yes, how is he," Abby asked anxiously.

"Well we normally don't share patient information with someone other than family or a spouse, but it seems you are the only one here. He has recovered quickly from the surgery and all his vitals have returned to normal, so I'm going to release him. I would recommend that he relax and rest for the next few days to allow the incision to fully heal." The doctor continued. He just needed to prepare the paperwork.

As Abby walked back in, Buck had already put his clothes back on, minus the jacket still draped around Abby's shoulders.

"Well, looks like I can put this hellish, not to mention semi-embarrassing, night behind me. Looks like old Buck is already healing like a champ". He said with a cheeky grin.

Abby looked at him with a sense of worry in her ever so expressive blue eyes.

"What?" Buck asked.

"Well, I don't exactly think you should be going back to that frat house by yourself tonight. What if something happens? I think you should come stay over tonight. Let me take care of you." She said with genuine concern.

"Oh Abby, I couldn't ask you to do that. Besides, look at me, I'm fine." She said with a little spin.

Abby looked at him with a serious face "Please Buck. I almost lost you tonight. I won't be able to sleep thinking about you recovering while your roommates are doing beer funnels in the living room until 4 am." She said.

Buck looked at the genuine worry in those beautiful blue eyes. "Ok," He said calmly. "Let's go."

Arriving back at Abby's house to find Patricia fast asleep was just what they needed. Carla walked over to the entryway looking concerned. Obviously, Abby had kept her up to date on the evening's happenings.

"I'll see you tomorrow Carla?" Abby asked.

The question was less of a question, and more of a clue for Carla to leave without asking. Carla complied and walked out, shutting the door quietly behind her as not to wake Patricia.

"I need a shower and you need to sleep," Abby said to Buck gesturing him towards her bedroom.

"You want me to sleep in your bed?" He asked with that damn cheeky grin.

'Yea… I mean we were on a date tonight. Plus we've had phone sex Buck, we aren't exactly strangers" Abby said with her own cheeky smile.

"But I thought we were keeping things slow. I told you, Abby, you mean too much to me for… well… for anything to go wrong" Buck started to get worked up as he said this.

"We will keep it slow. We can share a bed with our clothes on. Now go get in bed, you had surgery 5 hours ago." Abby said as she headed towards her bathroom to get a shower.


	3. Chapter 3

Stepping out of the shower Abby contemplated putting on sexy underwear, just in case. I mean, she had bought them for tonight anyway, she thought.

She stepped out of the bathroom quietly expecting to find a sleeping fireman in her bed. Instead she saw Bucks face lit up by his phone, probably scrolling through Instagram.

"You're supposed to be sleeping", she whispered as Buck looked up from his phone.

" I was waiting for you" He said with a smile.

Abby felt a little timid as she began to walk towards the bed, and crawled in next to him. She slid over until her hips were touching his.

With a little awkward laugh and smile Abby asked, "is this ok?" Buck smiled and opened his arms, signaling for her to lie down on his chest. Abby complied and cuddled up to him. They both let out a sign of relief.

'His muscles feel even bigger than they look' Abby thought. 'And he's so cute. This night ended up ok'

After a few minutes of silence, Buck whispered. "Good night Abby".

Since the next day was a Saturday and neither of them had to work, they didn't bother setting any alarms. In fact, Abby was hoping that Buck would sleep in late.

She, however, was up around 7:30 as usual. She was sure to keep quite as she went out into the kitchen to make tea. Looking at a sleeping Patricia, she wondered if her mom could go out for the day with Carla. It would give Buck a change to recover without the awkwardness of having his date's mother in the other room.

Abby texted Carla who thought it was a great idea.

About an hour later Carla showed up ready to take Patricia out for the day. It was good for her anyways, staying coped up in the house wasn't good for anyone.

"Thanks Carla! You're a life saver!" Abby gushed.

"Yea yea, I know. In return, you better tell me all about your night with the hot hunk of fireman in there." Carla said back with her usual sass.

Abby rolled her eyes. And on that note they were out the door. 'Now back to that hot hunk of fireman' Abby thought.

Buck opened his eyes slowly. It took him a minute to realize that he wasn't in a familiar bed, and then he remembered the events of yesterday. Surprisingly he didn't feel that bad. His throat was a little sore, but nothing major. He rolled over and grabbed his phone.

**12 Unread Texts**

Buck unlocked his phone and found that half of them were from his roommate Jeff.

[8:15 pm] **Hey! How's your date going? Did you bang her yet**

Buck read the first text and rolled his eyes. If this were any other woman, the answer would have been yes. He continued reading.

[10:55] **WTF happened?**

[10:55] **You've gone viral**

[10:55] **That chick from our party last week just sent me this video**

[10:55] ** Video Link**

Buck clicked on the video and it redirected to YouTube. Woman performs battlefield surgery on Valentine's Date. 'What the hell' Buck thinks to himself.

After watching the video he is stunned. Abby is a straight up Jedi. And she kissed him. It might have been CPR, but it's still a kiss.

Buck walks out of the room to find Abby. He sees her sitting at the kitchen bar with a cup of tea.

"Hey, Abby!" He says in his normal tone of voice.

"Hey! You sound a lot better. How are you feeling?" Abby asks.

"Did you see the video? Someone recorded you last night and put it on YouTube. It already has 30,000 views. My roommate sent it to me"

'Oh my god. Really? Did you watch it?" She asked a little squeamishly.

"Yea you are so badass! And I noticed that you did CPR on me… So, was that our first kiss?" He asked with a devilish smile.

Abby stood up in front of Buck and wrapped her arms around his neck. "No, this is our first kiss." She said as she pulled him down to meet her lips.

Buck returned the kiss with even more passion and pushed her up against the fridge. The kiss lasted longer than any kiss buck had ever experienced. He just couldn't seem to break away.

Finally coming up for air all buck could say was "wow".

Abby smiled and pulled him in for another kiss.


	4. Chapter 4

Evan Buckly sat on the couch in Abby's living room scrolling through Netflix. He was trying to find a movie for them to watch together, but he kept getting distracted by memories of the day.

They had their first kiss.

He keeps replaying that moment over and over again in his head. It was more than any other kiss he's had. The moment she pulled him down to meet her lips he felt this wild electricity radiate from his chest, out towards his limbs. It left a peaceful numbness as he held the back of her head in his hands. He had never felt such an intense feeling and didn't want it to ever end.

When they finally pulled away, he looked into her eyes and couldn't find the words to say. He was in a stunned silence starring at this beautiful woman in front of him.

Finally, Abby broke the silence, "yep, that was definitely better than our 'first' kiss. Good thing you don't remember the CPR version" Abby said as she started to giggle.

"Ha. Yea that was, um, I don't even know how to describe that." Buck said in a weak, breathy voice.

Abby looked up at him and smiled. She leaned into him and cuddled her head in his chest.

That all happened a few hours ago and he still can't get it out of his mind. He wonders if she felt the same feeling during their kiss. He hoped she did.

"Did you find anything?" Abby said as she walked over to the couch.

"That depends, do you want to watch something called Comedians in Cars Drinking Coffee?" He said with a laugh.

"That may be the most oddly specific title I've ever heard," She laughed.

Abby sat down next to Buck and nestled herself into his arms. 'She definitely likes to cuddle', Buck thought to himself. He never used to be a cuddler. In fact, he was the king of avoiding intimacy, but this was nice. He liked to cuddle with Abby.

The next morning Buck woke up to a sleepy redhead in his arms. He stayed with Abby for another night because she insisted he was still recovering. They had done a lot of cuddling and kissing that left Buck feeling tingly to say the least, but he remained strong and did not have sex with her. He insisted that they keep their clothes on and she was fine with that.

He needed to go home today. He had work on Monday and needed to do laundry before that. Plus his roommates would never let him live it down if he stayed with a girl for 3 nights in a row.

He slid out of the bed in an attempt to not wake her, but that didn't work. Just as he got out her eyes fluttered open.

"Hey!" Abby said in a sleepy voice.

"Hi. I'm gonna hop in the shower. I'm feeling a lot better and I think I should head home today. I need to do some chores before my shift tomorrow" Buck said.

"Ok, I should spend some time with my mom today anyway" Abby said.

As he walked away, Abby was a little disappointed that he would be leaving. She had work on Monday as well and desperately needed to go grocery shopping, but she liked having him around.

As Buck walked out the door, he told Abby he would call. She closed the door and leaned her back against it. "hmmm" she thought out loud. He didn't kiss me once this morning.

Abby started to feel a little insecure because he left without kissing her. I mean they aren't officially anything yet, but they had shared more than a few fantastic kisses this weekend and it seemed odd that he left today without one.

Buck walked into the firehouse on Monday morning. "Hey everyone!" He shouted as he danced around a little bit. He was cleary excited to be back.

Hen walked over and gave him a pat on the arm. "Hey! Welcome back. I missed you!" She said.

"Oh I missed you too Hen! Where is everyone else?" Just as Buck said that, Bobby came in.

"Hey kid, glad to have you back!" Bobby said.

"Glad to be back, although it wasn't such a bad weekend. I spent it with Abby", Buck said with a huge smile on his face.

Hen was excited, "Finally! Maybe now we can stop hearing about her so much," She giggled. Hen was truly happy for her young friend.

Bobby, on the other hand was a little less thrilled to hear this. "That's great Buck", he said trying to muster up something that sounded genuine.

The truth was, Bobby hasn't been able to get Abby out of his head all weekend. He knows that her and Buck are… something, but he couldn't help his feelings. All he could do was try to ignore the pang of jealousy and pretend to be happy for Buck. Bobby truly does care about Buck like a son and wants him to be happy, but damn, why does Abby have to be so amazing.

"9-1-1, What's your Emergency?" Abby said in a serious tone.

"It's going to get me! I need help!" The teenager on the other line screamed.

"Who is going to get you? Ma'am, what's your location?" Abby prodded, trying to get enough information out of this distressed woman.

"This ratchet ass spider. It snuck up on me when I was in the shower. Can you send someone to kill it?" The woman asked.

"Ma'am that is not an emergency that warrants first responders. Kill the spider yourself." She said, as she slammed the space bar on her keyboard.

Abby took off her headset and went to get some coffee. That's the 3rd call today that was a complete waste of her time and resources. It's good that she didn't need to dispatch anyone to a serious emergency today, but its also a little boring. It didn't give her anything to distract from the Buck situation.

He hasn't called or texted since he left her apartment Sunday morning, and its creeping up on 4pm Monday. She wonders if he has lost interest.

The day was also quite at the firehouse. Buck had spent the shift wondering around the loft, looking for ways to entertain himself. He finally sat down at one of the dining tables and unlocked his phone. He opened the chat to Abby.

'I shouldn't text her', Buck thought to himself. 'I should wait for her to make a move. Right?' Buck wasn't sure what to do. He had never been in a situation where he had spent the night with a girl and not intentionally deleted her number afterwards. He wasn't exactly sure how these things work. The only thing he was sure about is that he didn't want to screw this up. His heart was still tingling from their first kiss.

'Was this what love felt like?' He wondered.

Just as he contemplated that thought, Bobby walked over and sat down.

"Hey Buck!" Bobby said in his calm tone. "How is your first day back?" He asked.

"Great! Well… boring. I'm just happy to be here. Although I am a little distracted. I'm not sure what to do about Abby. Maybe you could give me some advice?" Buck asked with a sweet smile on his face.

Giving Buck advice about Abby was literally the last thing he wanted to do. He was torn between the fantasy of this beautiful woman and helping the kid he thought of like a son. It would have been easier to avoid the whole situation, but Bobby couldn't just leave Buck hanging.

"What do you mean? What's wrong with Abby?" Bobby asked.

"Nothing's wrong. And that's the problem. She is perfect and I don't know what I'm supposed to do next. I haven't talked to her since I left her apartment yesterday morning. I'm not sure what to say," Buck said with a awkward, shy expression.

"Well Buck when it comes to women, the worst thing you can say is nothing at all," Bobby new this was good advice. He knew he didn't have a chance at stealing Abby away from Buck, so he might as well make sure one of them ends up happy.

After a long shift Abby unlocked the font door to her apartment and walked into the entryway. Her mom was asleep. "Thank you Carla!" She said was a smile.

"Yea, yea I'm the best. I know" Carla said with confidence. "Now tell me about the boy!"

"Ha! He's sweet," She said as she started to blush. "I really like him Carla. I mean really, really like him! But I'm worried he doesn't feel the same. He left yesterday morning and I haven't heard from him." Abby started to get sad as he continued.

"What if he realized that I'm too old for him? Or he lost interest after we spent the weekend together." Abby was truly concerned.

Buck sat on his bed, with his phone in hand. Should he call? What will he say? He has never gotten this far in a relationship.

Buck decided he didn't have the words so he put his phone down and crawled up into bed.

Abby was also lying in bed. She couldn't stop thinking that things were over between her and Buck. He seemed to be backing off. He kept saying that he had problems and maybe he's not ready for a relationship yet. She sighed and put her phone down.

[11:45pm] **Buzz**

Abby's phone lit up on the nightstand and woke her out of her light sleep. She picked up the phone.

[1 text from Buck]

She smiled and slide it open. **Are you up?**

**Yea** She sent back.

**I'm outside. I needed to see you**

Abby was shocked. She jumped out of bed and tip toed to her front door. She opened it up to see a sleepy fireman wearing a tight white Tee and baggy grey sweat pants. She pulled the door shut behind her and stepped out into the hallway so they didn't wake her mother.

"Hey… this is a surprise", Abby said softly.

"Yea, sorry. This is probably weird. I just… I didn't call you all day because I didn't know what to say. I've never done this sort of thing before." Buck struggled to get the words out.

Abby just looked at him with confusion. She still couldn't tell if he wanted to be with her or if he was trying to back out of this situation.

"I really like you, Abby! And I don't want to screw this up." He said was a shy look.

"Are you saying you don't want to do this? I get it. I'm so much older than you and you probably still want to be free and live your life and I'm not exactly… well, you know. I'm just me, so" Abby continued with a defeated look on her face. Buck could see that she was doubting herself and that made him so upset.

Right then Buck closed the gap between them and kissed her. Hard. He pushed her up against the door and grabbed her face in his hands.

"That's not at all what I was trying to say. I want to be with you Abby. I just don't know how to say it" Buck said as he went in for another kiss.

"I think you just did," Abby giggled and pulled him in for another kiss.

Abby smiled up at him and opened the door behind her. Come on, you should just stay over tonight.


	5. Chapter 5

She grabbed Buck's hand and pulled him into the apartment. She slowly closed the door and gave him a look, while gesturing at her mother sleeping in the dining room. Buck giggled a little.

"You know, I kinda feel like I'm back in high school sneaking around like this" Buck said as he pulled her into him.

"Yea, well this may not be high school but I really don't want to wake my mom", Abby whispered.

They walked into Abby's bedroom and shut the door. They both stood there awkwardly for a moment, neither knowing how to start this. Finally, Buck grabbed Abby's hand softly and said, "You are so beautiful!"

He kissed her. But, this time it was much different. It was gentle and loving, like they had done it a million times before. Buck moved his hands down from her cheeks to the top button on her shirt. Signaling that he was ready to take this to the next level.

Abby felt him playing with her shirt button.

She smiled and thought, 'I need to tell him first'.

Buck moved down to the second button and a little alarm went off in Abby's head, 'don't let this go any farther until you tell him!'

Right then, Abby broke the kiss.

Buck looked a little confused at her sudden change in demeanor. "Is everything ok?" He asked hesitantly.

Abby looked down at the floor and took a few steps towards the bed. She sat down and looked up at him.

"Umm.. yes! Yea… of course. But …", She breathed in deeply. "before we go any further, I need to tell you something"

Buck sat down next to her on the bed. His heart started to race and his head was spinning in circles.

"Ok, you can tell me anything", Buck said with a fake calm.

"I, um, … I haven't been intentionally keeping this from you, its just that I haven't had a great opportunity. And most guys kinda freak out at the idea. And up until now we were just having fun. Plus everything with my mom has taken center stage lately. And we really did meet at an odd time. "Abby continued to spiral.

"Abby", Buck interrupted as he grabbed her hands in his.

"What is it?" He questioned as he looked into her eyes.

"I have a daughter", Abby said.

Buck's face went from concerned to shocked.

"A daughter? Wow! I had no idea…" Buck started. Then he corrected himself.

"I mean, that's great Abby! I'm not scared away by that. I'm just a little shocked because, well, I've been at your house for days and haven't seen her", Buck continued.

"Well, that's why I said we met at an odd time. She gets a long spring break so she takes that opportunity to go stay with her dad in San Diego for about 3 weeks every year. She sees him on some long weekends too, but she is usually here with me. We just so happened to meet in person the day after she flew out. She will be coming back on Friday, though." Abby continued.

"What's her name? How old is she?" Buck asked.

Abby smiled in relief, he seems to be taking this way better than she expected.

"Sage, she's 8", Abby said proudly.

"That's a pretty name", He said softly with a smile.

Abby looked up at him, "You're not freaked out by all of this?"

"I mean, I'm a little surprised, but for the past 3 weeks I was wondering why you didn't have kids, because you would make such a great mom. You're so caring." He trailed off.

"I would love to meet her, if you're ok with that" Buck said proudly.

Abby was truly shocked at how well he was taking it, but then again this was her sweet Buck. She smiled and leaned in to kiss him. She meant it to be a light peck, but he deepened the kiss almost instantly.

"I think we were in the middle of something before" He said in a breathy voice in between kisses.

"You still want to?" She asked.

"More than ever" Buck replied into her ear.

He lowered her down so her back was laying on the bed and climbed on top, straddling her. He put his hands on the bed on either side of her head and leaned down to kiss her. He then trailed kisses down her neck until he reached her chest. He sat up and pulled his shift off.

"I didn't know you had so many tattoos", She said as she ran her hands over his budging muscles.

"Yea, maybe some day I'll tell you what they all mean" He teased and reached for the buttons on her shirt.

Once her shirt was off, he could no longer control himself.

They were both sweaty and out of breath and she laid on top of him with her head nestled in his neck.

Buck was again blown away. Their first kiss was unlike no other, but this, it was as if he had never had sex before. Nothing compared to the way he felt when he was inside of Abby. 'Maybe this is what people have been referring to when they say making love', he thought.

"That was incredible", He whispered as he kissed the top of her head.

All Abby could do was smile as she drifted off to sleep.

The next day Buck walked into the firehouse, ready to start his shift. He was feeling like a new man. Not only was he officially 'with' Abby last night, but he now felt like he was actually with Abby. He had never been in a relationship before, but he was pretty sure he is in one now. And the whole bomb drop about her having a daughter!

He felt so calm about it. Even a little excited. He never really dreamed about having a family, but now it seemed like such a reality. 'Maybe, I'm getting ahead of myself', he thought.

Just then, Captain Nash walked in.

"Hey Bobby! How is my Captain this lovely morning?" He said happily.

"Hey Buck! How are things with you?" He asked.

"I have huge news! I slept with Abby, and I think we are in a relationship now. It feels really good! But I have even bigger news than that. She told me last night that she has a daughter. Can you believe it?" Buck continued.

"Wait, wait, wait. She has a daughter?" Bobby asked in a shocked and concerned tone.

"Yea, she told me last night. She's 8"

"After you had sex?" he asked trying to discern the situation.

"No, before. She didn't want to go too far until I knew." Buck said.

"So she told you she has a daughter and then you had sex with her? Buck, are you nuts?" Bobby said practically scolding him.

"Umm… what? Why are you freakin…" Buck asked, but Bobby interrupted.

"Buck, this is serious. You're entering into a relationship with a mother. Her kid is at stake now. If she introduces you and you bail out, that will be traumatizing for the little girl. Abby is putting so much trust in you. Do you really think you are ready for this? What if you get really serious? Are you ready to be a father?" Bobby was genuinely upset. He could feel himself getting mean, but he couldn't stop it. The news of Abby having a daughter, not to mention a daughter the same age as his dead baby girl, really stung. Buck wasn't ready to be a father. This is yet another reason why he would be a better boyfriend for Abby. He was letting his jealously and emotions run ramped and was taking it out on Buck.

"How did you not know up until this point? Haven't you been staying at her house?" Bobby asked.

"Odd timing. She said Sage goes to her father's house in San Diego every Spring break. And just so happens that we met the day after she left. She is coming back this Friday." Buck said strongly.

Buck couldn't believe Bobby's reaction. He was falling in love with Abby and the idea of a daughter wasn't scarring him at all. In fact, the thought of Abby's daughter made his heart melt. He could only image how beautiful and perfect this little girl would be. A miniature Abby.

"I get it Bobby, I'm an immature kid. But Abby makes me feel like a man and makes me want to be better for her. I know being a reliable person is important for a child, I was a foster kid, I get it. I will make damn sure I am committed to staying before I meet Sage." And with that, Buck walked away.


	6. Chapter 6

Buck was fuming. 'Why is Bobby acting like this', He thought as he paced around the locker room of the firehouse. After nearly wearing a hole in the floor, Buck stopped and sat on the bench.

Hen walked in after noticing how distraught he looked.

"Yo, what up", She asked. She sat down next to him and bumped her shoulder into him. "You ok?" She finished.

"No, not at all Hen. I'm freaking out." He looked at her.

"Ok… why?" She questioned. She was not filled in on anything here.

"Abby has a daughter. She told me last night. And I wasn't freaking out about it because, I think I love her. But then when I told Bobby he went nuts. He doesn't think I'm ready to be a parent and said if I get involved with Abby that I need to… well, be ready to be a parent. So now I'm sitting here doubting myself. And I don't know what to do", Buck said frantically.

"Oh wow! Well, did you ever think about kids before?" She asked him seriously.

"Honestly, no. I don't tell people this but I was a foster kid. My mom died when I was 2 and I was in so many homes with so many shitty people, that I only ever thought about myself. I never thought about having kids", Buck said.

Hen could tell he was having a realization. 'Thanks Hen!" Buck said as he got up and walked out of the room.

It was nearly 7pm that same day. Carla had long gone home and Abby was sitting at her kitchen table painting her nails. She was thinking about Buck. She couldn't believe how well he took the news about Sage. She smiled and picked up her phone to make sure she didn't miss a text from him. She sent him a **Hey** about an hour ago, but hasn't heard back. She hasn't heard from him all day in fact.

Just then, there was a knock at her door. 'Speak of the devil', she thought.

Abby walked over to the entryway.

"I guess showing up unannounced is becoming your new thing." She said as she pulled the door open.

"Oh, Captain Nash. Hi, um,… come in." She said awkwardly.

"Hey Abby, sorry to just show up like this. I just wanted to see how you were doing." Bobby said as he stepped closer to her.

"I just wanted to make sure you were doing ok after Buck ended things. I know you guys have only been dating for a few weeks, but to hear him say he doesn't want anything to do with kids must have been rough." Bobby said as he reached out to grab her hand.

"Wait… what? He said that!" She said devastated.

"He didn't tell you yet? Oh gosh, I'm so sorry!" Bobby said.

"No, it's not your fault. I should have suspected something was up. I haven't heard from him all day." She said fighting back tears.

"I feel like such an idiot. He seemed ok with the news, but I guess he was just saying that." She sat down and wiped her eyes with her hands.

Bobby stepped closer, "Hey, you're not an idiot. Buck is a sweet kid, but he isn't ready for something like that. Its not anything you did wrong." Bobby said as he again stepped closer and pulled her into a hug.

"Thanks!" Abby said returning the hug.

She could tell that Bobby was into her. It was pretty obvious. But nothing was going to happen here tonight, she was too upset about Buck. She ended the hug and politely told him that she was really tired and would see him soon.


	7. Chapter 7

A few hours later around 10pm, Abby crawled into bed. She grabbed her phone to text Sage when she saw a message from Buck.

**Hey, sorry! Phone died. How are you?**

'Is he kidding', she thought.

She threw the phone down onto the bed without responding and fell asleep.

When Buck woke up the next morning he checked his phone expecting to see something from Abby, but there were no messages.

He decided to call.

Abby's phone began to buzz, [Incoming call from Buck]

'Is he serious?' she thought.

"Hi Buck, I wasn't expecting to hear from you." She said coldly.

"Why? You mean because of yesterday? Sorry, I had something important to do and my phone died. I texted you last night, but I guess you were asleep." He said in his normal tone.

He really didn't seem to know what she was talking about. "Bobby stopped by yesterday. He told me about your conversation with him and Hen. You know, the conversation where you said you never wanted kids then had a realization and ran out." She said, her tone even more icy than before.

"Look, I get it Buck. I knew it would be a shock and that you may not wait to continue this. Please just tell me. I was so blindsided when Bobby came here last night. Based on our conversation, I thought you were ok with Sage" Abby finished.

"Abby, I had no idea that Bobby came to see you. And I am ok with Sage. I … Listen, I don't want to have this conversation over the phone. Can I come over?" Buck asked.

"Yea" She responded flatly.

Buck could her it in her voice. She was so hurt.

Buck arrived at Abby's apartment 20 minutes later. He rushed over because he could tell she was so upset.

"Hey", he said as he walked in the door and closed it behind him.

"I'm so sorry about all of this. I don't know why Bobby came over and told you all of that stuff. I mean, we did have a conversation but it was more about him freaking on me. He thinks I'm going to screw this up. He's the one that made me doubt myself", Buck said.

"So you are doubting…", Abby asked.

"No, well I was. That's why I talked to Hen. She asked me if I ever wanted kids. Honestly the answer was no."

Visible disappointment showed on Abby's face. Buck saw it and said, "damn, I'm really messing this up right now."

"The answer was no. I've never thought about kids before. I've only every thought about myself. But that's when I had the realization that Bobby mentioned to you. I realized that I never wanted kids and yet when you told me about Sage, I started to think about having a kid. I was fine with it. I was thinking about meeting her and being with the 2 of you. It all seemed so natural, Abby, and that's because its you. I never thought about having kids before, but with you its different. Everything is different. I knew you were special the first time we talked on the phone and a swear I fell in love with you the first time we met." He continued.

"Did you say love?" She said shocked. Her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yea, I know its crazy. We've only known each other for a few weeks, but when you know, you know right?" Buck took a step closer to her.

"Bobby said that if I wanted to continue with you I need to be reliable and not bail, because of Sage and I know he's right", Buck continued.

"That's what I was doing all day yesterday. I was trying to think of a way to show you that I'm reliable and not just a dick kid like everyone thinks. Then I remembered something. After my mom died, I went into foster care. Most of her stuff went, well I don't know, and all I had was a backpack with the essentials. But the government office in Bakersfield did keep a box there for me. It had all of my important documents like birth certificate, and social security card, but it also had my mom's necklace. I actually remember her wearing it. It's one of my only memories of her. Foster homes are rough so I chose to leave the necklace with them. I didn't want anything to happen to it." Buck was so vulnerable in this moment.

"The necklace was of her first initial. An 'S' for Sarah." Buck paused and looked Abby in the eyes.

"Also for Sage. I thought if I gave the necklace to Sage, it would prove that I'm here. That I'm here for both of you" Buck was so weak in this moment. So completely exposed.

"I drove to Bakersfield yesterday to get it." He said as he pulled the necklace out of his pocket.

Abby was in complete shock. She had her hands over her mouth and didn't say a word.

"I'm sorry if this is too much. It seemed like a good idea, but maybe its not. Please say something", He whispered.

"Buck, this is the most incredible idea." She choked out as tears began to flow down her face.

She closed the gap between them and hugged him, just like the day her mother went missing.

"I'm sorry I doubted you, this is the sweetest thing in the world and it means so much. Really!" She said into his ear.


	8. Chapter 8

As Abby woke up, she could feel the muscle-y chest of the sleeping fireman raising and lowering underneath her head. She loved to sleep in his arms. This was the fourth night they had spent together, but it seemed like he has been here her whole life. These past 3 weeks have been a whirlwind.

She slipped out from his arms and went into the kitchen to make coffee. As she sat down at the bar she saw the necklace lying there. It really was beautiful. It was a horizontal gold bar on a short gold chain, with the letter 'S' engraved on the left side. She rubbed her fingers over it contemplating the journey this necklace had taken.

'Its so sad', she thought. The woman who owned this necklace died too young. She never got to see her son grow up into the wonderful man he is. And Buck didn't get to have a mom. He didn't get to have a normal childhood.

As she sipped on her coffee, she contemplated the true weight of this little necklace; it was sure heavier than it felt in her hand, and for Buck to want to give this to Sage. It really meant a lot.

She knew she wanted Buck, and this gesture really did prove that he wanted them, but she was still hesitant. It took her about 5 months to introduce Sage and Tommy. And even though she is glad the relationship ended in hindsight, it was hard on her daughter. She has dealt with so much instability already in her life, 'how can I do this to her again?' Abby thought to herself.

But, then again, Buck isn't Tommy. This is a totally different situation and maybe Buck would be a great father. Maybe this would be really good for Sage.

She kept going back and forth in her head until she heard footsteps behind her.

"Hey", he said as he came up behind her and kissed her neck.

She giggled out loud and melted into his embrace. She sure as hell never felt this way with Tommy. This was something totally different.

"So, I've been thinking", She started, then paused.

"About you and Sage." She paused again.

"She's coming home tonight. I think it would be best if you gave me the weekend with her. You know, let her settle back in here. Then maybe you could come over for dinner on Tuesday? And meet her" She said hesitantly.

"Yea, ok. I would really like that. And definitely, take all the time you need. I want to make sure you're ready for us to meet." He said sweetly.

She really did love how supportive Buck always was.

Abby was sitting at the airport terminal waiting for Sage's plane to land. She was beyond excited to see her baby. 3 weeks was far to long for her to be away. Just then she heard a little scream coming from behind her.

"Mom!" Sage yelled as she ran towards her mom.

Abby jumped up and Sage ran into her arms.

"Hi, baby! Oh have I missed you!" Abby said as she kissed Sage's face a few too many times in the 8 year old's opinion.

"So, how was San Diego? Did you have fun with you dad?" Abby asked.

"Yes, so much fun! But I missed you! We did so much stuff," Sage continued as Abby picked up her bags and they began to walk out of the terminal.

When they got home, Sage ran in the door and over to hug her grandmother.

They spent the rest of the weekend together. Sage loved to swim in the pool and do anything outside really. She even got to play with her neighbor's dog. Abby was so happy to have her daughter back, but couldn't shake the nervousness about introducing her to Buck. 'Am I being selfish', she kept thinking over and over again.

The truth is, when her and Tommy broke up, Sage took it pretty hard. She felt like her dad was leaving all over again. And even though her dad has sobered up enough to see her a few times a year, Abby could tell that Sage was missing that fatherly figure in her day-to-day life. She vowed not to introduce Sage to the next guy unless it was really, REALLY serious. Like engagement serious, to spare the little girl more disappointment and abandonment.

But then again, everything was different with Buck. And if it went right, this could be the best thing for Sage. It was so much to think about.

When Monday night rolled around, she put Sage to bed early. She had school in the morning and needed to get her full eight hours. Abby checked on her mom, who was quietly reading in bed, then double checked all of the house locks before going into her room for the night.

She picked up the phone and dialed Buck.

"Hey Abby", he said obviously smiling though the phone.

"Hey Buck, listen. I've been doing a lot of thinking" She paused and took a deep breath.

"When Tommy broke up with me, Sage took it really hard. Just like when her dad left. And I am really scared about disappointing her again. But after thinking about it, and you. You're not either of them and I think you are worth the risk. So let's have dinner tomorrow night and you can meet her." She said.

"I would really love that!" He said


	9. Chapter 9

It was Tuesday night. Abby was excited to see Buck as she hasn't since Friday. She was also nervous about this evening. As far as Sage was concerned, they were having dinner with one of Mom's friends.

Abby decided to dress up a little since she hadn't seen Buck in a few days. She wore a black, off the shoulders top with white jeans, no glasses, and straight hair. She also wanted to dress Sage up a little since this was the first time Buck would be meeting her.

Instead of focusing on dinner, she decided they would order pizza and make the night more about Buck and Sage getting to know each other.

There was a knock at the door and Abby's heart sank. She really did feel like the future was riding on tonight, even if that seemed a little dramatic.

"That's him. Do you remember his name?" She asked her daughter.

"Buck!" Sage replied. "That's kinda a silly name, haha!" Sage laughed.

'At least Sage is in a good mood tonight' she thought as she opened the door.

As the door opened, Abby saw her handsome fireman standing there with the pizza.

"Hey, I figured I would just pick it up on my way", He said with a cute smile.

He walked in and gave Abby a side hug and peck on the cheek. He wanted to keep things innocent around Sage and Abby noticed. She smiled and took the pizza.

In that moment Buck looked up and saw her. She looked so much like Abby he thought, and yet at the same time, so unique to herself. She had long, dirty blonde hair with a slight curl on the end. Parted in the middle and tucked behind her ears. She was also a little tan, presumably from her 3 weeks in San Diego with her father. He also was shocked at how little she was. He didn't exactly know what to expect when Abby said 8 year old, he definitely wasn't expecting such a small human. Then he noticed the most striking thing about her. She had kind brown eyes. Those were all Abby.

Buck was so nervous. He took a few steps over to the little girl, who also seemed very nervous, and kneeled down to her level.

"Hi Sage. I'm Buck, nice to meet you," he said softly.

Sage looked at the floor and didn't respond right away. Buck could tell she was feeling shy.

"Can I get a high five?" He asked with a smile.

He could see the shyness slowly melt away as she gave him a high five.

"Ouch, you're so strong!" Buck said, making the little girl laugh. Her guard was almost completely down at this point when something really unexpected happened. Sage walked a step closer to Buck and gave him a hug.

Abby looked on in amazement, she has never done that before. It made Abby smile. Buck really did that that effect on people. Even her daughter felt safe around him.

After the moment was over and Sage ended the huge, Abby interrupted.

"Who wants pizza?" She declared.

"Oh, me! I want some!" Sage ran over with excitement and grabbed a plate to sit at the table.

Buck stood up and turned to Abby with a smile on his face.

"This is going well." He whispered to Abby.

"She likes you. I've never seen her hug someone like that after first meeting." Abby said with a huge smile on her face.

'Maybe this was the right decision after all,' she thought to herself while grabbing some pizza.

After eating, they sat in the living room letting Sage tell all of the stories from her 3-week trip. Buck kept asking silly questions to keep the little girl entertained.

'He really is a natural', Abby thought as she watched them interact.

They talked for a long time and Abby couldn't believe how natural it felt having him there. Sage was completely at ease. It was getting close to Sage's bedtime so Abby was planning to wrap this up soon. Buck could tell it was about that time. He got up from his seat on the couch and grabbed his mom's necklace off of the counter. He walked back over and sat next to Sage.

"It was really nice meeting you tonight Sage." He said to the little girl. This captured her attention completely. She smiled at him.

"I have something special to give you because I have a feeling we are going to be good friends." He said as he pulled out the necklace.

"A necklace" She gasped.

"Yep, it has a letter 'S' for Sage" He said as he unclasped the necklace to put it on her.

"Mommy! Look!" The excited girl exclaimed.

"Wow! That is so pretty baby girl," Abby said with a smile. She was so happy in this moment.

Abby knew about the necklace, but what came next was totally unexpected.

Buck looked at Sage and whispered, "Psst, Sage. Can I tell you a secret?"

The little girl was very intrigued.

"Yes! Tell me!" She said, practically jumping up and down.

"I think your mom is the most beautiful, most special woman I have ever met. And I really like her." He continued. Although this was supposed to be a 'secret', Buck new Abby could hear everything.

"I have a big question to ask you. This is really important…" He paused.

"I was wondering if you would let me be your mom's boyfriend." He finished.

Abby was shocked. 'I can't believe he said boyfriend' she thought as she blushed. She wasn't expecting this at all.

Without any hesitation, Sage said, "I think that would be a good idea." She then looked at her mom.

"Mom, you have a new boyfriend now. He's a total babe," She whispered.

Abby and Buck both broke out laughing.

"What did you say?" Abby asked in between laughs.

'Where did Sage even learn this stuff', she thought. When they finally stopped laughing Sage just looked at them and said "What?" Before she got off the couch and walked away towards her bedroom.

Buck looked at Abby with a little bit of a shy expression. He was still processing what just happened. Mainly that he had the courage to use the word boyfriend. And judging by her expression, he thinks it worked.

"So… that was my way of, I guess asking you if you would, well… geese it was so much easier when I was talking to an 8 years old." He said, feeling at a loss for words.

"The answer is yes, Buck," She said as she closed the gap between them and kissed him.

" You can be my boyfriend," She giggled as he hugged her.

"Thank you for tonight, it was really perfect. You are really perfect," She said as she looked up at Buck.

He smiled and kissed his girlfriend.

* * *

 _Thanks for reading! And thank you to everyone who commented. Your support truly means a lot. I may still continue this story in the future, but I wanted to leave it at a good stopping point before the show returns tomorrow._


	10. Chapter 10

Buck decided not to stay over since he had just met Sage first the first time tonight. Going back to his own bed was the last thing he wanted to do, but he knew it was the right thing to do. He had kissed Abby goodnight and was currently in his white Jeep about 5 minutes from his apartment.

He was feeling really weird but in a good way. A month ago he would have been focused on going out and having a good time and now he was thinking about his girlfriend and her daughter. There have been some big changes, not only in his life but also in himself.

As he pulled up he saw a bunch of cars in the driveway. 'Great, looks like my roommates are throwing a party', he thought.

Walking in and heading straight for the steps in roommate yelled out, "Bucks here! Now the fun can really begin!"

"Not tonight guys." He said waving them off.

But they weren't taking no for an answer.

"Oh come on. You can't keep using your girlfriend as an excuse. At least not until we meet her. One beer!" Jeff said, tossing him a Natty Light.

Buck was still reeling from his night with Abby and Sage but decided that one beer wouldn't hurt. I mean, he was here alone and probably wouldn't sleep well tonight anyway. He wasn't used to his own bed anymore.

Buck sat down on the couch next to a girl he didn't recognize.

"Oh hi, sorry can I just scoot in here", He asked politely.

"Of course", She said devilishly. "I'm Vanessa. Jeff told me you're a fireman." She continued as he opened his beer.

He felt a little weird talking to this girl but decided that it was perfectly innocent.

"Yep. It's the best job. Can be crazy sometimes, but I love it".

They continued their conversation and Buck downed a few more beers. Before he knew it the room was emptying out and he decided to excuse himself to his bedroom.

Buck walked into his bedroom, shut the door, and took off his shirt. As he was getting into bed he heard a voice coming from the door.

"What do all of those tattoos mean? You know I'm a sucker for tattoos." Vanessa said in a sultry voice peaking into his room from the doorway.

Buck literally did not know what to do. The old him would have known exactly what to do, but getting rid of a girl was a skill he had never tried before.

"Oh, I haven't even told my girlfriend that" He trailed off; hoping his mention of a girlfriend would give her the hint to leave.

"Why not, is that relationship not going well?" She asked taking a few steps into his room. Buck swears she was wearing less clothing now than when they were talking.

"No, it's just new. We are still getting to know each other." He thought this was a strong argument, but Vanessa somehow managed to turn it around again.

"So she's your girlfriend? Or just met. I'm confused." She questioned as she came and sat at the foot of his bed.

Buck scooted to the headboard trying to distance himself.

"Well, we did just meet, but also she's my girlfriend. It just became official tonight," Buck said strongly.

"So why are you here, alone, drinking with strange women if she just became your girlfriend tonight?" Vanessa prodded.

"It's complicated, she has a daughter and I didn't want to be too overbearing with her," Buck said sweetly. He really did care about Sage, even though they just met.

"Daughter? That's heavy. Are you really ready for something like that? You kinda seem like a good time guy to me. That's why I was hoping we could get to know each other a little better tonight."

Buck realized that none of his politeness and subtly was working. "Vanessa I'm committed to my girlfriend so nothing is going to happen tonight. I really don't want to be rude, but would you mind leaving now so I can get some sleep." Buck said genuinely.

Vanessa was disappointed but wasn't going to fight it anymore. She picked up her bruised ego and left the room. He laid down in bed and was asleep in minutes.

 **Enter Dream Sequence**

"Dad!" The little girl screamed.

Buck look around not seeing anyone else there. His fireman instincts kicked in and he sprung into action to help the lost child. He grabbed her hand to make sure she didn't run off, then he saw those kind blue eyes.

"Sage?"

"Sage, what does your dad look like, I've never seen a picture of him?" He asked, intent to help the little girl.

'Where is Abby?' He thought.

"Dad, can you help me I can't get my boots off. I can't unbuckle", She said looking up at him.

'Is she talking to me?' He panicked.

'She can't be talking to me, I'm not her dad'

Just then he realized they were in Abby's kitchen. Abby walked in and Buck was relieved. She spun around and was about 8 months pregnant.

"What the hell? How are you pregnant?" He asked confused.

Abby laughed, "Ha. Ha. That joke was only funny the first time. Can you help her with the boots? Dinner is almost ready."

Then, he was sitting in the waiting room of a hospital.

'How did I get here?' He thought looking around.

"Congratulation, daddy. It's a boy!" The doctor said handing him a baby.

Buck woke up in a sweat.

'Oh, it was a dream' he thought as he laid back down, unable to get the thought of it out of his head.

The next morning, Buck walked into the fire station, still unable to get the dream out of his head.

"Hey boy!" Hen yelled from one of the tables.

"Hi, Hen." He said sitting next to her.

"So, last night I had a crazy dream. I had a baby with Abby, and Sage was calling me dad before that. And I was super freaked out and woke up practically sweating. But then as I was falling back asleep, I felt kinda sad" He paused "that it wasn't all real. And now I can't get it out of my head." Buck said slowly, barely believing the words that were coming out of his own mouth.

"Sounds to me like you're finally growing up and it looks good on you," Hen said.

"I think this girl is turning you into a man," She said proudly.

Buck smiled. "So what do I do now?"

"You just keep doing what you're doing. Let the relationship grow. Be happy!" It's really not that hard. It will come naturally I promise.

At that moment, the fire alarm went off. 'Time to go" Hen said. They were headed to an armed robbery turned arson so police, fire, and EMT were dispatched.

"911 What's your emergency?" Abby said into the phone.

"There's a shooter in the school," the person, who sounded like a kid, whispered into the phone.

**Bang**

**Bang**

"What school sweetie?" Abby asked trying to stay calm despite hearing the gunshots echoing in the background.

"Westmore Elementary" The young girl whispered.

Abby's heart dropped.

That's Sage's school.

She dropped the call and dispatched every possible response to the school as quickly as possible. She then grabbed her cell phone and texted Sage.

 **Mom:** Are you ok? What's going on? The police are on their way.

She then dialed Buck.

"Hey Abbs, I" Buck answered, but Abby cut him off in a panic.

"There's an active shooter at Sage's school. I just dispatched units there. But they are going to take too long, I…" she trailed off as she started to cry.

Buck was in complete shock.

"Athena, we need to get down to Westmore Elementary now!" Buck yelled.

"Were only 5 minutes away, Abby, we will get there. Athena is driving were in the cruiser now." He said into the phone trying to calm his distraught girlfriend.

"Ok, ok I'm coming down there now. I should be there in 20 minutes," Abby said a bit more calmly, but still emotionally distraught.

"I texted her and she hasn't responded yet," Abby said and it made her start to cry again.

"Abby, she's fine. Were 2 minutes out," Buck said calmly.

Pulling up at the school, Athena ran in to take out the shooter while Buck and Hen went in to help any potentially injured.

They all ran in the front door and heard a loud **Bang** to the left.

It sounded like a single shooter so Athena ran towards the sound and Buck and Hen followed closely.

Turning the bend, they saw a teenager dressed in a black hoodie with a pistol in his hand.

"Freeze or I'll shoot. Drop the gun." Athena yelled.

After a moment of contemplation, the shooter dropped his gun and Athena pounced on him.

Buck and Hen ran to the room where he was pointing his weapon and saw that the teacher had been shot. Hen rushed over and started doing CPR while Buck looked around.

There were kids crouched behind all of the desks, but it didn't seem like anyone had been shot.

"Come out into the hall quickly, Buck yelled" and the terrified kids listened.

Just as he was wrangling these kids into a line the other police showed up.

"Shooter is down one GSW so far. Take these kids out I'm going to go look in the other rooms." Buck said.

Buck ran into the next classroom to see the teacher hiding the kids in the back. "Is anyone hurt?" He yelled.

"No" the teacher responded weakly.

"Police are in the hall, get these kids out of here" Buck instructed.

He continued to the other rooms one by one finding the same scene. The kids and teachers were all scared and shaken up but no one was hurt. He directed them to the police in the hallway and then moved to the next room.

He ran into Mrs. Taylor's 2nd-grade room and yelled, "Is everyone ok?"

The teacher responded yes, and then he heard,

'Buck!"

Buck knew it was Sage's voice and breathed a sigh of relief.

She ran over to him and hugged him like she has the night before. She was shaking and had obviously been crying.

He embraced her so tightly and picked her up. He wasn't planning on letting her go anytime soon.

"Take everyone out of here. The police are waiting in the hall to help. I've got her." He said still holding Sage as she was digging her face into his shoulder.

He grabbed his phone and dialed Abby.

Abby answered, "Yea?"

"I have her she's not hurt." He said quickly.

"Oh my God… thank you" She began to cry again, but this time in relief.

Buck put the phone on speaker.

"Mom" Sage said quietly.

"Hi Baby! I'll be there in a few minutes, ok." She said calmly. She didn't want to scare Sage anymore with her tone.

"Ok" she responded.

"Are you ok?" Abby asked.

"I was so scared, but Buck is here now. I'm ok he's holding me." Sage said.

They stayed on speaker with Abby while they walked outside.

Abby pulled up and barely put her car in park.

She ran over and hugged Sage tighter than she ever had, partially hugging Buck in the process because he was still holding her.

Buck handed her over to Abby and then put his arms around his girlfriend to comfort her.

She wasn't saying a word, just hugging Sage.

After a few minutes, Buck offered to drive them home and Abby decided it was a good idea to get away from this trauma as quickly as possible.

In the car, Abby finally snapped out of her daze and grabbed Buck's hand.

"Thank you" She whispered, never meaning 2 words more strongly in her life.


	11. Chapter 11

Buck was sitting out in the kitchen waiting on an update from Athena, while Abby was lying in bed with Sage trying to get her to take a nap.

This whole thing was so strange, Abby heard shots in the 911 call and it took them at least 7 minutes to get on scene, but as far as he could tell only one teacher was shot. This wasn't the typical scene, especially since they had the kid in custody.

Buck was trying to figure out exactly what happened and why. He told Athena to update him on every detail the moment she knew. When he got the call from Abby it was like something within him switched on. He cared about Sage so much even though she wasn't his daughter. It was really starting to feel like she was. And now that this whole thing is over he is feeling powerless. He hopes that knowing why it happened will somehow make it better. Better for Sage, better for Abby, and better for him too.

Abby walked out of Sage's bedroom and into the kitchen. It shook Buck out of his deep thinking.

"Hey," she said softly. He could tell that she was still so upset.

"Come here," He said as he pulled her into hug. "How is she?" He whispered into her ear.

"I don't know. She seems ok, but how could she be after something like that. I just can't believe this happened. It's all so surreal. We deal with terrible stuff every day, but you never think it can happen to your own child." Abby continued clearly still so out of it. "I'm just really glad you were there. It made a huge difference for her. She keeps saying that you came to save her. You made her feel so safe and hopefully, she will focus on that rather than the trauma of it all"

"Well I did go to save her. I wasn't called to the scene, I went because she was there." He said softly. "I was so scared when you told me I wanted to go get her. Even though I just met her, she's your daughter … and that makes me feel so connected to her. I want to be with you and I know that means being with both of you. And I'm ready for that. I really am" he finished.

Abby was almost in tears. "That's means so much to hear you say that, Buck."

Just then, his phone rang. "Hey Athena, any update?" He asked.

"Yea, so looks like the shooter was only after the one teacher. This wasn't a typical mass shooting. He didn't intend to harm any of the students. Looks like you can be counting your blessings tonight. The teacher is stable by the way. Looks like she will pull through." Athena said bluntly.

"Thanks Athena"

"So it looks like the kid was just after the teacher. He never intended to hurt the students. Sage was safe all along. I don't know id that makes it better" He finished.

"Not really, what makes it better is that you were there to save here. Sometimes the fear is the worst part of these situations. Kids can walk out physically unharmed, but the fear changes them forever. It seems like she has gotten over most of the fear because of you. I really can't thank you enough, Buck. It means everything to me that you were there for her." Abby finished unable to take her eyes off of him.

"Will you stay over tonight?" She asked still holding both of his hands.

"Of course" He said with a caring smile.

"Mom" a little voice cried out from the side the bed.

Abby and Buck both woke up in a panic.

"Sage what's wrong, did you have a nightmare?" Abby asked. She hoped that seeing Buck in her bed wouldn't be a terrible shock.

"Not really, I woke up and I can't fall back asleep." Sage said.

Abby got out of bed and wrapped Sage in a hug. "Ok, I'll come lay with you" Abby said leading her out of the room.

"Wait, can Buck come too?" Sage asked.

Abby was a little surprised. "Ok, Buck will you come too?" She asked him.

"Of course" He said, also surprised by the little girl's request.

He got up and Sage ran over to him and wrapped her arms around him. He picked her up and carried her into her bedroom. Abby was so surprised by Sage's attachment to him. It made her so happy because she felt like she was making the right decision for Sage by being with Buck.

Buck put her down on her bed and Abby tucked her in. Abby sat down on the bed next to Sage and pulled her into her arms. Buck sat on the chair next to her bed and they all just sat there until Sage fell asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

A few months had gone by since that terrifying indecent. Buck was spending more time at Abby's place than his own. They would have dinner together most nights. He would help Sage with her homework while Abby cooked. Then they would watch movies or go on walks outside. Sage loved anything Disney and Buck even admitted to liking Frozen. Buck was so content with this life and he wasn't scared to admit it.

Last week he ran into an old flame while having lunch with Hen. He was polite but realized how empty that life was. Back then he was always searching for something. He was never content. Now, he was. He was genuinely happy.

On the rare nights where he slept in his own bed, he worried about them. Tonight was one of those nights where his shift ended late and he didn't want to wake Abby. He decided to head back to the 'frat house' as she so lovingly calls it.

After a tired drive, Buck finally made it to his bed and crashed down onto it. His shifts truly were exhausting and he wanted nothing more than to cuddle with his beautiful girlfriend.

Buck truly couldn't believe the changes in his life these past few months. He was so grateful for his girls. He felt like he had a family for the first time in his life. He missed Abby like crazy when he wasn't with her and he thought about Sage all the time.

He worried about her being safe obviously. But he also worried about her being happy, having good days, not forgetting her lunch, and a million other things that he never thought about before. He hoped she was having a good day, but he knew he would be there if she wasn't. It made him so happy to see her smile and when she cried he felt like he was going to die. He was starting to feel more like her dad than that tool down in San Diego.

Being alone tonight made him realize even more that those two had become his entire life. Buck thought back to the night when he gave Sage his mom's necklace. The part he hadn't told Abby was that he also had his mother's wedding ring. It was a modest but beautiful square cut diamond set in white gold. It was currently hiding in his bedside drawer, but he was getting dangerously close to pulling it out and proposing to Abby.


End file.
